The 2012 All College Tailgate was well attended by several CCI Alumni. The events included: the All College Tailgate hosted by
President and Mrs. Barron in the President’s Backyard; performances by the Marching Chiefs and the FSU Cheerleaders; and a pregame speech from Senior Associate Director of Athletics Monk Bonasorte. The CCI table was staffed by students from the College
Student Leadership Corp. Students representing CCI were: Christine Willingham, Kelsy Young, Allison Loehr and Lauren Johnson.

CCI Adds 3 More to Garnet & Gold Scholar Society
Florida State University President Eric J. Barron inducted 12 students into the Garnet and Gold Scholar
Society last December, 3 from CCI (Annie Smith, Jason Vogel, and Bianca Salvaggio). The prestigious
academic society, created by President Barron in 2011, recognizes outstanding undergraduate students
each semester. Garnet and Gold Scholars are acknowledged for meeting membership criteria of excelling
in at least three of five key areas — leadership, internship, service, international study and research — both
within and outside of the classroom. There have been 136 students inducted into the Society—19 from
CCI. We currently have 35 students in the process of completing the G&G requirements.
The College of Communication and Information faculty and staff who advise Garnet and Gold Society
members in specific engagement areas include:
- Leadership and Internship: Ebe Randeree, School of Library & Information Studies
- International Experience: Mark Zeigler, School of Communication
- Service: John Marks, School of Library & Information Studies
- Research: Dr. Juliann Woods, School of Communication Sciences & Disorders
Volume 5 Issue 2

March 2013

cci.fsu.edu

College News

The Communicator
Annual Convocation Honors Faculty, Staff, and Alumni
The College of Communication
and Information held its Annual
Convocation and Award
Ceremony Saturday, October 27,
2012, welcoming keynote
speaker Karen Moore, CEO and
founder of Moore
Communications Group, one of
the largest independently-owned
PR firms in the nation.
This event honors the hardworking faculty and staff of CCI,
as well as its distinguished
Alumni. At the College level,
Karen Moore
Jason Penley, CCI Help Desk
Administrator and FSU alumnus,
received the Dean’s Office Award. Ebe Randeree was awarded
the CCI Leadership Board Award for his work in outreach to local businesses, supporting the Leadership Board efforts, and
promoting CCI efforts through social media.
School of Communication Science & Disorders
Neil DiSarno, recognized as the Outstanding SCSD alumni, who received both his MS and PhD in
audiology from CCI’s School of Communication Science and Disorders, recently completed his
fourteenth year as the department head of Communication Sciences and Disorders at Missouri
State University. Additionally, he is the Chief Staff Officer of Audiology at the American SpeechLanguage Hearing Association.

School of Communication
David Garfinkle and Jay Renfro, recognized as the Outstanding COMM alumni, graduated from
the School of Communication and founded Renegade 83, which has become one of
Hollywood’s most prolific television production companies. They are known for creating the
reality show Blind Date, and two of their productions, USA’s The 4400 and the documentary
special The Kennedy Detail, have been nominated for Emmys.
Faculty/Staff recognized were:
Gary R. Heald, Professor and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Finance
Natashia Hinson-Turner, Graduate Academic Support Assistant and School’s Graduate
Coordinator

David Garfinkle and Jay Renfro

School of Library & Information Studies
Samantha K. Hasting, recognized as the Outstanding SLIS alumni, who graduated
with her PhD from the School of Library and Information Studies in 1994, has been
the director and acting professor at the University of South Carolina, School of
Library & Information Science, since 2006. She also directed the digital image
management program at the University of North Texas, SLIS, serving as interim
dean (2004-2005) and president of ASIST (2004).
Faculty/Staff recognized were:
Ebe Randeree, Program Director of the SLIS Undergraduate Program
Elaine G. Howard, Executive Administrative Assistant
Samantha Hastings
Page 2

Jason Penley

The Communicator
College News

College Launches “CCI Through Your EYES” Video Contest

The College of Communication & Information (CCI) launched its first ever student
video contest: “CCI Through Your Eyes” last Fall. Students submitted videos in
October and an Official Viewing Party was held on Saturday, November 10th from
3-5 PM in Room 006 of the Louis Shores Building with food and refreshments. 95
videos were submitted and 30 were sent to the initial judges. 15 videos made the
final cut and were showcased at the 11/10 event. The audience voted for the final
winners. Prizes included: Grand Prize: $250, 1st-4th Runner-Up: $100,
Honorable Mentions: FSU Snuggies. Students winners included:
1.

Matchett – Tech City Rap

2.

Jorge, Moore, Strawter, Moore, Sarmiento – Why IT?

3.

Livingston, Williams – ICT

College/STARS Hosts “Tech Days”
As part of the ongoing outreach that CCI conducts,
the College hosted Wakulla High School on
Saturday 2/23. The tour started at Seminole
Productions with a viewing of the 3-D video (used
for Football recruiting), a tour of the control room,
and a discussion of Media Production options.
The students then toured campus ending in the
Johnston Lab (where they are presented with the
undergraduate majors available in CCI). The tours
bring high school student to campus to visit CCI,
meet our students, and discuss careers. Schedule
to visit this Spring are Marianna High, Bay High,
and Godby High.

VOLUME 5, ISSUE 2

Page 3

College News

The Communicator
Apps to Lower Stress and Keep You Healthy
Being a student takes up a lot of time, but it’s not your entire life. Here are some apps to help you unwind, focus, stay healthy, and be a
little less stressed.
Parallel Kingdoms
This game is unique in that your map is the world around you. Slay monsters, build cities, raid dungeons, and
hone your skills all in your own neighborhood. This game is GPS based, allowing players to roam new territory by
traveling to it in real life. You can see who else is playing in your area and team up or go to war. And for those of
you who don’t want to get off the couch, there are even ways to expand your territory and explore new land
without ever getting up.

Pocket
Why is it that you always come across the most interesting stories or videos while working on some super
important project with an impending deadline? You know what I am talking about. Then you just have to
read/watch it because you know you will either forget about it or never find it again. You could always bookmark
the page, but then you end up with a bookmark folder full of clutter. Pocket lets you put those distractions away for
later with just one click. Even better, it syncs them to your computer, phone, and tablet, so you can take a look
whenever you happen to have a free moment.

Calorie Counter-MyFitnessPal
It’s hard to find time to be healthy in college and, let’s face it, working out is not always the first priority. Whether
you want to be more fit or want to get rid of that freshman 15, this app is a great tool. Not only does it provide you
with a super easy way to track what you eat, but it also keeps track of how many calories you burn, and has a
massive database of foods so you can find whatever your diet is missing or just pick a quick and healthy snack.
Everything syncs between your phone and computer, and you can even connect with friends if you need the extra
motivation.

Workout Trainer
You do not always have time to hit the gym, but that is no excuse for not staying fit. Got 10 minutes before you
need to leave for class? Hop on this app and pick a quick workout. Workout Trainer has a huge database of
workouts for any time you have available and any level of fitness. You can browse workouts by goal (weight loss,
fitness, cardio) or target area (chest, arms ,legs, abs). Simply select a workout and the app will talk you through it
along with visual aids so you know exactly what you’re supposed to do. You can even pick the voice of your
trainer. The app tracks your progress and lets you know how you are doing. You can even
create custom workouts and share them with the rest of the fitness community.
FSU Tranz
Just in case you missed the arrival of this beauty, we are featuring this lifesaver of an app so you will never (or at
least rarely) be without parking on campus again! This app is connected to all of the campus parking garages and
tells you which ones are full and which ones have room. This app could definitely use some improvement, but it is
still a must have.

MixBooth
Waiting for dinner at a restaurant? Stuck in a long line? Need a laugh? Check out MixBooth. Just pick two
people, or grab a picture of that celebrity you like off the internet for your second, and this free app will mix the
faces together for you. Endless hours of amusement can be had by mixing your friends, family, bosses, pets,
etc. If you like this you may also want to check out AgeBooth and BaldBooth.

Crackle
This is a great app if you are going to be stuck somewhere for quite a while. Crackle is a free app that provides you
with full length movies and TV shows that you can stream to your phone for no cost. It has a good selection of recent
media that can keep you entertained for quite some time.

Page 4

Students from WISE (Women in IT/ICT Sharing
Experiences) group spent an evening on November
28th with CEO Samantha Strickland, THE POD
Agency, as part of the STARS/WISE Leadership
series. They followed that with a second event on
February 18th at the Onyx Group with CEO Nadia
Kamal and a morning on February 26th at
Datamaxx Group.
The goal was to provide young women with
opportunities to talk one-on-one with successful
business leaders. Students discussed life
challenges, leadership, strategy, networking,
mentorship, and entrepreneurship.
A recent article in Huffington Post (2/15, Sejal Hathi)
stressed the need for young, female tech leaders to
have mentors. WISE (Women in IT/ICT Sharing
Experiences), started by STARS Alliance in early
2009 focuses on students in the Information
Technology (IT) and the Information,
Communication, and Technology (ICT) programs;
however, all FSU students are welcome.
The goals include: providing professional events for
members (guest speaker series, mentorship events,
career days, internship opportunities, company
tours), providing opportunities for leadership for
students (executive board, leadership roles,

outreach to schools), facilitating links between FSU and the local
business/technology community for our female students, and providing
venues for social collaboration for students (Bowling, Picnics, Pizza
Nights).
“This is a terrific opportunity for CCI students to learn more about the
various facets of leadership and mentorship from women who practice it
every day,” said Allison Loehr.
Another student, Ashley Augustine, was struck by the link to the concept of
“passion”. Her notes form the events reflect the events at Onyx and the
Pod show this —she wrote: “Expose yourself to more and find your
passion; surviving is not living.”
McKenzie Fitzpatrick also attended—she said "You never really see the
other side to a CEO like where they come from or how they got to where
they are. Sometimes we forget that they are human just like us. Their story
and the growth of their companies is really inspiring.”

VOLUME 5, ISSUE 2

Page 5

College News

The Communicator
Local Agencies Host WISE Women

Communication

The Communicator
Seminole Production Offers Students Real-Work Experience
The Florida State University School of Communication’s Seminole
Productions was highly commended in a recent article for providing students
with real-work media production experience. This company is also used by
many departments for their video needs. The article was published January
27, 2013 on both FSU News and Tallahassee.com.
Seminole Productions has been awarded over 50 national and international awards, including consecutive years as the “Top College
Video Board Display” from IDEA. The Seminole Production company’s largest client is the Athletic Department. Anything seen on the
video boards has been produced by the working students of the Seminole Productions. Seminole Productions is supervised and was
co-founded by Mark Rodin. Rodin is the executive producer and is a faculty member of the FSU College of Communication and
Information. The full story is available at either link below:
fsunews.com/article/20130128/FSVIEW0206/130127009/Seminole-Productions-offers-real-work-experience
tallahassee.com/article/20130128/FSVIEW0206/130127009/Seminole-Productions-offers-real-work-experience

Focus on: Communication Alumni
Meet: Diane Fredrikson (1988 Alum)
Diane joined Logical Choice Technologies in February of
2005. Her role at the company began as a K-12 Sales
Consultant working directly with schools in the
Southeast to help with Promethean interactive
technology implementations.
In November 2006, Diane took on the role as a Sales Director to oversee a team of
Education Sales professionals on the East Coast. In April 2012, Diane was promoted to
the VP of Sales position and currently manages the U.S. Sales Directors, the Strategic /
Bid Team and the Inside Sales team.
Prior to joining Logical Choice, Diane had a 15 year career at The Orlando Sentinel
newspaper where she worked in a variety of roles including advertising sales to local
and national retailers and as a marketing analyst. Diane received her Bachelor’s of
Science in Communications in 1988 from The Florida State University and is now the
proud Mom of an FSU Freshman class of 2016! Go Noles!

Meet: Sully Moreno (2012 Alum)
Sully completed her undergraduate at CCI in 2010 and her MCS degree at FSU CCI in 2012.
While at FSU, she was awarded the “Outstanding Master's Student in Media and
Communication Studies, FSU, 2012” as well as receiving two Hispanic Marketing
scholarships (Pablo J. Lopez Memorial Scholarship, FSU, 2011; Emerson Climate
Technologies Scholarship, FSU, 2011).
She currently works in the sales and marketing group at Microsoft. “My department is called
Sales Desk and we put together strategic communication documents for account managers.
I'm also now in charge of project managing translations to Canadian French, Brazilian
Portuguese, and Spanish, and reviewing the translations to Spanish. I really like it because it
gives me the chance to work with companies in Latin America and put my certificate in
multicultural marketing to good use!” In her free time, she contributes weekly articles on
varied topics including the media, social issues, and current events to Feminspire.com, a
website with over 10,000 daily hits.
Page 6

The Communicator
Communication

Garnet & Gold Scholars: Smith & Vogel
The School of Communication
inducted two new Garnet & Gold
members this past Fall. Annie
Smith and Jason Vogel.
Ms. Annie Smith, supervised by
Dr. Davis Houck, presented her
research on December 3rd . Her
presentation was entitled,
“Persuasion and Communication
Apprehension in Public Speaking.”
The FSU Garnet and Gold Scholar Society recognizes student
achievement in several areas, including leadership, internship,
service, international experience, and research. More
information is available at: http://garnetandgoldscholar.fsu.edu/

Student Nominated for Marshall Scholarship
Dylan Kilby is much more than one expects. The FSU senior is prepared to graduate in 2013 with
three majors: International Affairs, Communications, and Pre-Medical Studies, and plans to attend
Oxford University to pursue a degree in Medical Anthropology, eventually becoming a doctor
specializing in kinesiology and biomechanics. He derived this admirable goal from one of his many
passions- dance. He has pursued the art since his youth, and upon arriving at FSU, he has taken
courses in ballet, choreography, and contemporary dance, on top of maintaining his demanding course
load, even becoming the first non-arts major to participate in the School of Dance’s FSU in NYC
program for the Fall 2012 semester.
Additionally, Kilby is an Eagle Scout who has worked at the Woodruff Scout Reservation every summer
since 2009 in various capacities, from lifeguarding to instructing younger scouts. He is also the
founder and artistic director of Sunbleach, a self-funded dance/arts company “specializing in merging
and exploring the relationship between communications technology and the fine arts;” the company
has produced the “Glitch Art” project, which creates aesthetics out of seemingly undesirable “glitches”
through dance and computer art.
Dylan was recently nominated for the prestigious Marshall Scholarship. This postgraduate award, established in 1953 by the Parliament
of the United Kingdom, provides two years of fully funded study at a British university to 40 qualified American scholars annually.
Intended to strengthen British-American relations, the discriminating honor is awarded to less than 5% of its applicants each year. We
commend Dylan on his dedication to his future studies, and wish him best of luck in the future!

Student Gets “SWAG” From Publix
Arielle Calderon did not expect her Buzzfeed article to get this big. She
wrote an article titled, “Reasons Why Publix is the Best Grocery Store to
Ever Exist.” The article generated 309,000 views, 11,000 Facebook
shares, and 70,000 Facebook likes.
Well, Publix Corporate got wind of it and sent her cookies and a swag
bag for her story. Arielle is a Community Contributor for Buzzfeed with
53 posts. Another story she wrote after the Publix article was about “21
Dogs Who Don’t Realize How Big They Are.” This went viral with
1,500,000 views, 35,000 Facebook Shares, and 120,000 Facebook likes.
What is next for Arielle—keep reading her Buzzfeed to find out.
Calderon was recent interviewed for a Fast Company article on Denny’s
(http://www.fastcompany.com/3004364/dennys-charmin-brands-try-crack
-social-conversation).

VOLUME 5, ISSUE 2

Page 7

Communications

The Communicator
COMM Celebrates Life of Alumnus: John D. Chang
Family and close friends of late alumnus of the School of Communication, John D.
Chang (’85, Media Production), joined together on Jan. 4 to celebrate what would
have been his 49th birthday. The purpose of the gathering was to discuss plans for a
public dedication of the school’s media production lab in Chang’s honor on Jan. 4,
2014.
Chang, who is credited by the Dallas Cowboys for the development of their highly
successful television presence, passed away in Dec. 2002 from a cerebral
hemorrhage at 38 years old. His professors recall him fondly as being a talented,
hardworking student with a passion for his craft. Cowboys’ owner Jerry Jones
remembered him as “a wonderful person who touched all of our lives with his
kindness, his professionalism, and his genuine love for people.”

L->R Classmate Kelly Starling, Dean Dennis,
During a tour of the media production lab and the school’s award-winning video
production unit Seminole Productions, Chang’s mother, Judy, sister, Ku-Ling, and
Chang's mother Judy and sister Ku-Ling
former classmate Kelly, shared their memories of him. The group visited FSU’s
Master Craftsman Studio and discussed the creation of a commemorative plaque in Chang’s honor for the media lab.
Chang’s family and friends plan to continue honoring his legacy through the John D. Chang Endowed Memorial Scholarship, which
was established by his family shortly after his death. It provides funding for FSU undergraduate students majoring in Media Production.
To date, 19 students have received support in the form of tuition, books, and costs paid for conference travel and presentations.
Plans are underway to raise additional funds for the endowment by Jan. 4, 2014, as part of a celebration of Chang’s birthday in
conjunction with the public dedication of the media production lab. To learn more about how you can join in honoring his legacy or to
make a gift, contact Mafé Brooks, campaign director for the John D. Chang Endowed Memorial Scholarship
at mafe.brooks@cci.fsu.edu or call (850) 294-8240.

COMM Student Published on HispanicCMO.com
A report written by Alejandra Guacaneme, a master’s student at the Florida State University
(FSU) School of Communication, was published on HispanicCMO.com. The topic covers
‘Branding Opportunities in the Baby Care Industry with Hispanic Moms’.
HispanicCMO.com is a platform for Hispanic Marketers to exchange ideas about the challenges in
marketing to U.S. Hispanic consumers regardless of cultural and linguistic preferences. This
report was published on January 16, 2013 and is available at:
hispaniccmo.com/2013/01/16/branding-opportunities-in-the-baby-care-industry-with-hispanicmoms
In her article, Guacaneme cites U.S. Census data that shows 33.5 million Hispanic people are
active Internet users with substantial purchasing power and they shop online. The article shows
that 28% of online Hispanics have more than five persons in the household compared with 24% of
non-Hispanics and that the percentage of Hispanic households earning more than $75,000 is
growing dramatically.

Alejandra Guacaneme

She concluded that there is a great opportunity for marketers in the
baby care industry when targeting Hispanics moms. While
Guacaneme completes her graduate studies, she is also assisting the FSU Center for Hispanic
Marketing Communication. This Center is the first of its kind in the United States devoted to
educating students and professionals in the field of Hispanic marketing and advertising. Faculty and
students working with the Center are conducting ground-breaking research and serving as an
innovative resource for the U.S. Hispanic marketing industry.

Page 8

The Communicator
School of Communication professor Jaejin Lee, two current students and one 2012 alum from
the Integrated Marketing Communication program were accepted to present at the 2013
Biennial World Communication Association conference in Seoul, South Korea, from August 8
to 12, 2013. The theme of this year’s conference will focus on “Intercultural Communication
in the Global World.” Selected presentations will discuss topics about the state of
intercultural dynamics, both locally and globally, from diverse scholarly and professional
perspectives. Here are details about the two presentation acceptances at this conference:
1) Young Sun Lee, Taemin Kim (graduated from IMC program in 2012 and now attending a
doctoral program in communication at the Univ. of Minnesota, Twin city, MN), & Jaejin Lee, A
Comparative Content Analysis of Brand Communication on Twitter Between the U.S. and
South Korea.
Grace Sungeun Park

2) Grace Sungeun Park & Jaejin Lee, The Examination of Green Advertising as a crosscultural comparison in the US and South Korea.

Young Sun Lee

Advertising Creative Strategy Students to Develop Campaigns
The School of Communication’s Advertising Creative Strategy courses will work on projects this spring semester with the FSU Florida
Center for Prevention Research (FCPR) Director, Richard L. Howell. The FCPR was created to provide innovative research, education,
training, and technological solutions to address the challenges of substance abuse prevention and other social issues among Florida's
population. Read more information about FCPR at their website: http://fcpr.fsu.edu
The Advertising Creative Strategy I students will develop an advertising campaign to reduce high-risk drinking (ADV3001 section 1 class),
and another advocating against sexual violence (ADV3001 section 2 class). These two class sections are taught by Dr. Jaejin Lee on the
FSU campus. Their final project presentations will be created by collaborating with directors from this Center and contacts from an inhouse advertising agency. Best ideas will be selected from each section’s winning work and applied towards a 2013 antibinge drinking campaign and anti-sexual violence campaign that will be promoted on FSU’s main campus in Tallahassee, FL.

Page 9

Communication

COMM Students/IMC Alum/Professor to Present in S. Korea

Communications

The Communicator
Seminole Forensic Team Dominates State Tournament
On February 23rd, the Seminole Speech and
Debate Team clinched its seventh consecutive
state championship by a commanding margin.
The Seminoles, under the direction of doctoral
candidate Michael Chouinard, advanced an
impressive 30 out of 42 events to final rounds of
competition. Tallahassee Community College
finished second, advancing 18 events to finals,
while the University of Florida placed third with
13 finalists. The Seminoles also had the top
two teams in Parliamentary Debate and finished
first in Lincoln-Douglas Debate.
Individual results follow:

The Seminoles have finished in the top three at every tournament this semester, including an impressive win over perennial
powerhouses the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Alabama. The team has one more regular season tournament
before nationals in April.

Garnet & Gold Scholar: Bianca Salvaggio
Bianca Salvaggio, School of Communications, was recently inducted as a
Garnet & Gold Scholar. She completed the international component (which
was satisfied through the completion of a global pathways certificate), service
component, and the research component. In addition, Bianca completed an
honors thesis in my second major, psychology.
Her research was on “Medication Adherence in patients with epilepsy.”
Besides she G&G work, Bianca was extremely active on campus. She was
on the homecoming executive board for 2011, served as the 2011 president
of C.H.I.C.S@FSU, served as a peer involvement mentor, worked as a site
leader for alternative breaks (ABC), served on the executive board for 2012
omicron delta kappa, and was a member for honor societies such as ODK
and Phi Beta Kappa.
She studied abroad with the Florence, Italy program in 2010. Her current plans are to continue working
at the neurologist's office doing clinical drug studies and I will also be expanding on my undergraduate
thesis by incorporating new measures.

Page 10

FSU NSSLHA Chapter Wins Award
The FSU chapter of the National
Student Speech Language and Hearing
Association (NSSLHA) received an
award from the Executive Council of the
National Student Speech Language
and Hearing Association for having the
most student members of all
universities participating in the Annual
Convention.

The award included a $1000 cash prize
and was offered as one component of
L>R: Front row: Ashtyn Jarvis, Layne Beauregard, Bianca Loreti.
the Fall 2012 “Charge up your Chapter” Back row: Hillary Maddox, Jennifer McKee, Maighen Hosey, Jennifer
campaign. The FSU Chapter members Vamos
who attended the conference beat out
Georgia State University who came in second place. That fact is significant given that GSU
is located in Atlanta, where the Convention was located. NSSLHA members plan to utilize
the prize money to help offset costs of hosting their own local conference in the spring and
to support their Communication White Board Drive to benefit patients hospitalized at
Tallahassee Memorial Hospital.

Besides the award, NSSLHA members recently participated in a Student Advocacy Day
(January 17th) hosted by FLASHA. They are also very active in the spring conference
planned for April 13th that is being planned, hosted, and facilitated by NSSLHA members.

Delta Zeta Pledges 2nd Major Gift
The Alpha Sigma Chapter of Delta Zeta Sorority has pledged their second major gift to support the School of Communication Science &
Disorders at the College of Communication & Information at Florida State University. The NEW $50,000 pledge over a five-year period
will support the Integrated Preschool Program. This commitment will help fund program staff, materials and supplies as well as
classroom and playground equipment.
The chapter hosts Hamburgers for Hearing, an annual fall fundraiser featuring a campus-wide barbeque with live music and a Tug-ofWar competition - Turtle Tug. All event proceeds go directly towards the endowment. The Alpha Sigma Chapter first created a five-year
pledge of $25,000 in 2009 to support the School’s L.L. Schendel Speech & Hearing Clinic. With their hard work and enthusiasm in
organizing Hamburgers for Hearing, they successfully met their goal two years ahead of schedule.
Katelyn Varn is a CCI student and a member of Delta Zeta. She was excited at the link between her Sorority and her College; she said
“I feel honored and privileged to be in a sorority that directly gives back to CCI; It feels amazing to know that I get the chance to help our
school raise money to help further our education and transform our lives.”
The endowment helps fund support group meetings
for families of children receiving services at the
clinic, makes available assistive listening devices to
Florida State students with hearing impairments,
and provides resources to create educational material
targeting the university and local community.
Delta Zeta’s national philanthropy focus, supported by
both collegiate and alumnae chapters, is speech and
hearing and The Painted Turtle Camp. The Painted
Turtle's mission is to provide a year-round, lifechanging environment and authentic camp experience
for children with chronic and life-threatening illnesses.
Through Delta Zeta’s philanthropy of speech and
hearing, Delta Zeta has national partnerships with The
Starkey Hearing Foundation, Gallaudet University and
the House Ear Institute.

Page 11

Communication Science & Disorders

The Communicator

Communication Science & Disorders

The Communicator

New Students Represent National Reach
The current group of graduate students attending the School of
Communication Science and Disorders includes scholars who have come
to FSU from across the USA. Caitlin McCarron from the University of
Southern Maine, Nicole Castro from CUNY Queens, and Lauren Sherry
from the University of New Hampshire represent the northeast. Caitlin is
following a family tradition by coming to FSU for graduate school as her
father did. Sarah Getman studied in Colorado and finished at Towson
State University in Maryland, making her one of the more traveled
undergraduate students in this class.
Shawnna Gaffney came east from Albuquerque, NM. The Midwest
supplied Nathan Mutchnick from Wayne State University, Emily Houston
from Kenyon College in Ohio, Kelsey Schutz from Purdue University, and
two University of Wisconsin-Madison students Katelyn Kotlarek and Sara
Suprenant. Besides those escaping chillier climates the group includes
some Southerners, Grace Tillman from the University of Alabama,
Brittanie White from the University of South Florida, and Mara Peacock who graduated from FSU in Education.
Many of these students were aware of the strength of the graduate program in speech-language pathology in the School of
Communication Science and Disorders. They wanted to come to FSU where they would get more individualized teaching and
extended experiences through working on grants. Some wanted to work with children on the autism spectrum through the ASSETS
grant and others wanted to work with infants and toddlers who have severe disabilities through the TIES grant. Others want to work
with adults who have disorders of swallowing, language, speech, or cognition. At least three of them hope to continue their education
and earn a Ph.D. so they can research the communication issues that fascinate them.
Besides the geographic spread of these students, several came to speech-language pathology from different majors including
developmental psychology, linguistics, and elementary education. Grace Tillman delayed her graduation so that she could work on a
minor in Communication Science and Disorders. Another way that they learned about speech-language pathology was through
professional experience working in school settings. Their experiences ranged from being teacher assistants to pre-school workers, to
classroom teachers. They learned about the speech-language pathology program at FSU from faculty advisors, on-line searches,
and work experiences at places like the CARD Center. Lauren Sherry and Kelsey Schutz came to the spring preview session for
graduate students presented by the School of Communication Science and Disorders. They were impressed by the enthusiasm and
activities of the Schoolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s faculty and students.
All have brought their passion for speech-language pathology to the School of Communication Science and Disorders at Florida
State University. Clearly, their varied experience will enhance the program, as the program will help them grow into professional
practitioners.

Student Excels in Caregiver Support
Heather Baum is a senior at Florida State University duel majoring in Speech Language Pathology in the School of Communication
Science and Disorders and Psychology. She is currently interning at the Communication and Early Childhood Research and Practice
Center (CEC-RAP) as a research assistant under Dr. Juliann Woods, where she is working on a Direct Independent Study project.
The focus of the study is to compose and disseminate monthly newsletters that focus on maintaining contact with KTTP families in
ways that are individualized and convenient for their own lifestyle.
Through our monthly emails/letters, KTTP provides families with activities and tips that
encourage learning, language, and literacy at home. In addition to activities, they provide
links to useful websites that families can explore independently for more related
ideas. Families are informed of activities around town. KTTP also includes a list of current
events that are happening locally. The main goal with the follow-up project is to continue to
provide support in ways at a time that will be most useful to our families to maintain their use
of KTTP strategies and as a Communication Team Leader.
Heather is President of Lambda Pi Eta, the Communication and Information Honor Society
on campus. She anticipates graduating in the Spring of 2013 as a Garnet and Gold Scholar.
Heather earned the Interdepartmental Developmental Disabilities Certificate in Summer
2012, and was inducted as a Seminole Torchbearer in Fall 2012 for her leadership in the
FSU community. Her involvement in the Communication Disorders field has inspired her to
pursue a career in Speech Language Pathology.

Page 12

Gingrich Awarded ASHA Grant
Laura Gingrich, School of Communication Science and Disorders alum
(2011), was awarded a Clinical Research Grant from the American
Speech-Language and Hearing Foundation (ASHFoundation) at the
2012 American Speech-Language and Hearing Association (ASHA)
Annual Convention in November. ASHFoundation Clinical Research
Grants provides $50,000 to $75,000 of funding to a research endeavors
that will advance knowledge of the efficacy of assessment and treatment
practices in the field of communication science and disorders. Dr.
Gingrich’s research interests include the assessment and treatment of
swallowing impairment or dysphagia originating from neurological insult
or disease with particular interest in stroke and Parkinson’s Disease. The
recently funded project titled "Lingual Training in Parkinson's Disease:
Implications for Dysphagia Rehabilitation" will explore the application of
lingual exercise to improve swallowing function in persons with
Parkinson’s Disease and dysphagia. Dr. Gingrich is currently a
postdoctoral fellow at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago (RIC) and
the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University.

Doc Student Receives New Century Scholars Award
The New Century Scholars Award is awarded to doctoral students who are committed to a career
in teaching and research in communication science and disorders. The award comes from the
ASHFoundation and provides graduate students $10,000 to cover the costs of graduate school.
Janine Bartley, a doctoral student in the School of Communication Science and Disorders, was
selected for the award and received it at the 2012 ASHA national convention in Atlanta.
“My education at Florida State University has focused on experiences encompassing various
aspects of academia, including coursework, teaching, research, and intervention. I selected my
academic coursework to specialize in working with families of young children, in particular families of children with ASD. I took courses in public policy, parent-child interactions, professional
consulting and developmental psychology. In addition to my content area courses, I gained
knowledge of the research process through courses in group and single-subject research design,
courses in quantitative and qualitative research and courses in inferential statistics. These courses established my solid foundation in research methodology. My education also presented me
the experience of teaching at the university level. I taught a course in normal language development under the supervision of a tenured faculty member as part of my doctoral training. I’ve also
assisted in teaching a course on autism and presented a guest lecture about augmentative and
alternative communication devices to undergraduate students from the special education department. These teaching experiences bestowed in me the confidence to teach at the university level
in the future.
As in all research doctoral degree programs, my education was not limited to coursework and teaching. I’ve benefited from assisting,
designing, and conducting large group and small single-subject design research projects. I have assisted with a large scale, multi-site
research project examining two different early interventions for young children identified with ASD. Over the duration of the project I
participated in different capacities, as an interventionist and as a research assistant. I also had the opportunity to assist with three largescale observational research projects examining the behavior of young children with ASD. Through the course of my involvement with
these three projects, I supervised and managed up to 13 undergraduate research assistants. I trained the research assistants on coding
schemes, maintained inter-observer agreement data, and managed data collection. One of those three projects examined the types of
language parents’ use with their toddler-aged children. As the lead author, I presented two papers on the parent language project at
scholarly conferences, including the annual ASHA convention. In addition to the projects I assisted with, I independently designed and
conducted a project examining child characteristics during the second year of life that predict expressive language outcomes at age
three in children with ASD. This manuscript is currently in preparation. These research projects expanded and refined my knowledge of
research and provided me with the tools to conduct independent research.
During my career at Florida State University I also had the opportunity to be a clinical interventionist for a project examining early intervention for children with ASD. I provided family guided routines based early intervention using the SCERTS® curriculum for three families and conducted center-based playgroups for children and their caregivers. I gained valuable skills in selecting therapeutic goals,
assessing intervention outcomes and guiding parents through interactions with their children within the framework of this large-scale
research project. Based on my practice and the evidence supporting this model of intervention, I am invested in relaying this model of
intervention to future speech-language pathologists.”

VOLUME 5, ISSUE 2

Page 13

Communication Science & Disorders

The Communicator

Library & Information Studies

The Communicator

SLIS Partners With New Health & Wellness Center
For the past few years, SLIS has been building a relationship with the Thagard Health Center (now University Health Services). In
2010, SLIS launched the undergraduate HIT certificate. Since an internship was mandatory for the certificate, Prof. Ebe Randeree
started building relationships with local health care entities. One of the programs created a pathway to Thagard. The CIO of
Thagard, Michael Peterson, agreed to take 2 interns (unpaid and untested).
The relationship has been very beneficial for both parties. In 2013, SLIS has placed 1 full time IT employee (Patric Holly) and 4
paid interns with the new Health Center. According to intern David Battle, “The thing about working here is that the employees
appreciate the work we do for them.”

David Battle

Chris Kelly

Brendan Savage

Employee Patrick Holly with intern Kevin Galutera

According to the Center’s Director, Lesley Sacher, “The partnership has not only created a pathway for a productive technical
internship for students, several of these students have been chosen for full time employment after graduation. It’s a win-win all the
way around. We are very pleased with the caliber of student we receive: hardworking, eager to learn, helpful to staff, and hungry
for more information and experiences.”
The Director of IT echoes that message. “Initially I was concerned about interns in the Health Care IT setting, however, the
relationship we have built with SLIS has allowed us to receive high quality technology majors eager to learn and enhance their
knowledge of the impact information systems have in today’s health care environment. Each intern has been instrumental in the
development and the implementation of new technologies such as Instymeds (Pharmacy dispensing system) and our new patient
portal. We hope to continue to provide a quality option for interns interested in HIT.”

Alumna at Sea
We are always excited to showcase the places our alumni go
after they leave us, but sometimes our alumni go places that
surprise even us. After completing her graduate degree in
MLIS here at Florida State, Ellen Ramsey went on to work for
the University of Virginia as the Knowledge Integration
Manager & Liaison to the School of Nursing, but her
opportunities did not stop there. Ellen is currently sailing
around the world as the Spring 2013 Librarian aboard the MV
Explorer for a Semester At Sea.
The MV Explorer is a floating campus that is home to as many
as 720 undergraduate students each semester. Started in
1963, Semester At Sea has been providing students the
opportunity to learn about the world from a truly global
perspective for 50 years. From January 9th to April 25th, Ellen
will sail around the globe, stopping at 16 cities in 12 countries.
“For all of us on Semester at Sea, it is the opportunity of a
lifetime to see the world while studying it with experts about a
floating campus. I am so fortunate that both the University of
Virginia (my employer) and Florida State (my graduate
program) are so supportive of active learning in general, and of
Semester at Sea specifically.” You can follow her blog for
more info: http://knowledgeship.blogspot.com/

VOLUME 5, ISSUE 2

Page 14

Technology Students Present on the “NEXT BIG THING”

Students in the LIS 3353 Technologies course prepared and presented their ideas for what s the NEXT BIG THING in technology.

Doc Student Presents FEATURE Panel at ALISE Conference
Associate Professor Gary Burnett and doctoral
student Julia Skinner of the FSU School of
Library & Information Studies were selected for
a “Featured Presentation” at the Association for
Library and Information Science Education
(ALISE) 2013 Annual Conference in Seattle,
WA.
Their panel presentation “Questions Are Never
Neutral: Examining the Occupy and Tea Party
Julia Skinner
Movements as Exemplars of Information
Research and Everyday (Political) Life” with copresenters Jessa Lingel (Rutgers University) and John M. Budd
(University of Missouri) was chosen through a juried selection process as
one of four to be featured throughout the conference. It concentrates on
the rhetoric and discourse of the Tea Party and Occupy Movements for an
examination of information as being deeply political; the result will be a
presentation of methods, discursive practices, and ramifications for
education in the context of personal, informational politics.

VOLUME 5, ISSUE 2

Page 15

Library & Information Studies

The Communicator

Library & Information Studies

The Communicator
Plato Smith II Selected by NSF
FSU School of Library & Information Studies doctoral student Plato L. Smith II was chosen by the National
Science Foundation (NSF) as a leading American early career scholar to be invited to its “Early Career
Strategic Visioning Workshop” for EarthCube last October at the Carnegie Institution for Science in
Washington, D.C. “We were very happy for Plato,” said Kathleen Burnett, interim director of the School of
Library & Information Studies. “In selecting him for this workshop, the NSF has affirmed our belief that he is
a scholar with great promise and potential.”
SLIS doctoral student Plato Smith II has been recognized by the National Science Foundation as an early
career scholar. Smith was among the 72 attendees chosen from upcoming scholars and educators in 42
different program areas where computer science and geoscience intersect. The NSF’s ten-year EarthCube
initiative is working to advance research and understanding in the geosciences by developing a crossdisciplinary, community-guided digital infrastructure. The NSF asked participants to share their ideas and
perspectives so that it might use them to facilitate future research on the most pressing challenges in earth
science.
“I was chosen to represent data management due to my prior NSF grant panel participation and
performance,” said Smith, who is a teacher’s assistant in the Program in Interdisciplinary Computing at
Florida State University. “Data management and curation services are my areas of research interest.”
As part of a pre-workshop assignment, Smith submitted a modified framework for interdisciplinary data curation that he originally
developed for his doctoral studies. It was shown to attendees during a presentation at the workshop. “I learned from scientists in
various disciplines that many struggle with the challenges of managing and preserving data,” he said.
Smith has been developing a relationship with the NSF since 2007, when he was asked by Dr. Sylvia Spengler to be a part of a 2008
NSF grant review panel. As NSF program directors were pleased with his grant panel review evaluations, assessments, and
recommendations, he was asked to participate in grant review panels in 2011, 2012 and 2013.
“Though I’m qualified because of the technical knowledge, skills, and abilities that I’ve developed over the years, my experiences at
FSU in digital libraries, data management, digital preservation, research, and scholarly publications have contributed significantly to my
qualifications as a NSF grant panel review team member,” Smith said.

Suzanne Marshall Published
Suzanne Marshall, a SLIS graduate student, was recently chosen as a selected author in the highly competitive
annual student papers issue of Dttp. Her article, “A Hidden Story: American Indian Code Talkers,” was also
used as the image for the publication’s cover. Dttp, or Documents to the People, is a quarterly publication of the
American Library Association’s Government Documents Roundtable, and features articles on local, state,
national, and international government information, and government activities.
The article was originally conceived as part of Suzanne’s coursework in Dr. Lorri Mon’s Spring 2012
Government Information class, where she acquired skills in government documents research to trace the
history of American Indian languages used as an unbreakable code for military communications in wartime. As
the code talking concept was classified for over 60 years, these incredible feats were unknown until relatively
recently, but as Suzanne notes in her article, “were it not for the
Navajos, the Marines would never have taken Iwo Jima.” The code
talkers were considered so invaluable that they were often forced to
serve throughout the war with no breaks or trips home. Suzanne’s
extensive research into this topic included scouring Congressional
Records, personal letters in the government archives, and
Congressional Hearings from the US Senate Committee on Indian
Affairs.
Suzanne is the fourth of Dr. Lorri Mon’s LIS 5661 class to be published
in DttP; Nina Rose, Amy Coughenor, and Barbara Hughey also share in
this distinction. Suzanne graduated from CCI in December 2012, and
works as a Reference Librarian at West Florida Public Library in
Pensacola.

Page 16

Students Win 3rd Place at CyberSecurity Contest
In the first week of March, a team of eight Florida State University students competed in the Regional Southeast Collegiate Cyber
Defense (SECCDC) Competition in Kennesaw, GA. Students were expected to configure routine tasks and secure multiple servers
against simulated cyber attacks. This was the first time a team from FSU competed in the tournament. Students participating are:
Adolfo Lopez, Kara James, Nick Clark, John Patterson, Arsalan Ahmed, John Seigel, Jonathan Hodge, and Mazin Hasan. The
students are all part of the IT Security Course taught by Dr. Shuyuan Mary Ho.

Library & Information Studies

The Communicator

IT Alum Wins “EMPLOYEE” of the Year
Florida State University (FSU)’s Information Technology (IT) alum, Patrick Mitchell, was recognized as the 2013
School-Related Employee of the Year by the Columbia County [Florida] School District. Mitchell has worked for
over three years as a network specialist at their Administrative Complex. At an honorary Employee of the Year
luncheon, he received a cash recognition and a key to the city from Mayor Stephen Witt to thank him for his
important contributions maintaining the school system’s computer networks.
While attending FSU, Mitchell specialized in studying networks, completed the IT program in two years, and
graduated in May of 2009. While in high school, Mitchell also attended classes at North Florida Community
College in Madison. By the time he graduated from high school in 2007, he had also earned his associates in
arts degree.
“Surprisingly, I was never a nerd,” he said. “I was good with
computers, but I wasn’t a gamer; Information Technology was something I just enjoyed doing.”
After he graduated from FSU, Mitchell started working for the Florida Department of
Transportation in Lake City.
A friend told him about an opening with Columbia County school district for a network specialist.
He applied for the job, and has worked for the school district for about three years. Mitchell said
that technology has merged with education in many ways. If a part of the school system’s
network goes down, he knows about it immediately.
“A lot of jobs in the school system are computer based,” he said. “...essentially, if I’m not doing
my job well there’s a lot of issues for the county. Fortunately our network runs smoothly.”
VOLUME 5, ISSUE 2

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Library & Information Studies

The Communicator
Focus On: SLIS Alumni
Meet David Hartman (1989 Alum) David is definitely an exception to the old
stereotype of librarians toiling away amongst dusty stacks of books.
Graduating from FSU with an MLIS in Information Science in 1989, this
alumnus has been working as a librarian for the Information Technology
Department of Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, for the last 15 years.
During his tenure at the company, he designed and implemented a 24x7 RFID checkout system for the
physical collection, consisting of books, videos, and some audiovisual equipment. This RFID project echoes
that of the Disney company’s recent endeavor, project NextGen, which uses RFID technology throughout the
resort and theme parks to provide ticketless Fastpasses and a more personalized experienced for guests.
The Disney Company values his hard work; he was awarded the Cast Excellence Award in 1998, the Partners
in Excellence Award in 1999, and was the recipient of the Legacy Award in 2011, the award’s inaugural year. David is not defined by
his work, however. He has also written and published a 6 volume tome which has aided genealogists and historians on both sides of
the Mason-Dixon Line. Congratulations on all your achievements, David!
Meet Karen Kayir (2011 Alum): After completing her MLIS, Karen’s goal was to get into the Department of
Defense School System. There are bases all over the world in the system (She completed her student
teaching last Spring in Ansbach, Germany). The schools serve kids of deployed U.S. service members and
support staff. She was lucky enough to get picked up by Zama American High School in Camp Zama,
Japan her first year after graduating. “I got the job after the school year had started, so I began at the end
of October. Our school is pretty small (around 300 students) and is made up of Army and Navy dependents
grades 9-12. We're about 40 minutes south of central Tokyo.”
“As a first year school librarian, I'm trying a lot of new things to see what students respond to. So far, my
main goals are to increase reading for fun and the use of library materials as well as get more students into
the library to study and hang out, as well as in classes (which includes trying to get teachers to collaborate
with me on research and technology projects). We've been updating the space, adding magazines and
new popular books, moving things around, and clearing out a lot of unused and dated materials (including a
collection of laser disk players and laser disks!) Students have already started checking out books more often. I've created a special
section for the YALSA Teen's Top 10 books, and they have become especially popular! I've also started an after school gaming club
where students can come in and use my networked computers to play LAN games. Students who participate need to prove to me that
they have no Ds and Fs or are actively working to raise those grades. So far we have about 20 active members. For a new club, that's
a pretty exciting start! Living and working overseas has been both rewarding and challenging. There are so many exciting things to
explore and see, but you do lose out on a lot of what is going on back home with family and friends. Our students experience this
same dichotomy, and it opens up a unique opportunity to inspire each other to take advantage of the resources we have over
here. Students involved in extracurriculars (be it sports or academic) compete with schools all over Japan and Korea and get to travel
all the time. We're fortunate to get the opportunity to have a true world perspective.”

Meet Jonathan Kramer (2009 Alum) Jonathan woke up one day, realized he hated tech support, and decided to go see the world!
Jonathan graduated from FSU in 2009. Today, he teaches Kindergarten in English in Seoul, South Korea. “I have been here since
February of 2012 and it's going fantastic. Jonathan’s web page krmr.com is full of details about all his travels and he is very effective at
recording what he does. His accounts on Vimeo, Youtube, Instagram and Tumblr have strong followings.
“As a tall, blonde-haired, blue-eyed, white American living in Asia, I tend to stand out in a crowd. It's an interesting and bizarre thing
that has become a part of my everyday life. Even living in Seoul, one of the biggest cities in the world, where more and more people of
different ethnicities come every year, children on the subway stare at me unabashedly, store employees sometimes get visibly nervous
when I come to pay at the counter and my students frequently ask me why I have gold hair.” Jonathan’s resume is very broad: he has
taught kindergarten in Fuji City (Japan), worked the Front Desk at Tamarack Lodge & Resort, worked as a Technical Production
Assistant at Abso Lutely Productions, worked as a Graphic Design Lead at App Happy Studios, and been an Assistant Language
Teacher with Interac. So what's Next for Jonathan? According to him, “The world is certainly heading in a much more connected,
multi-cultural direction and it's exciting to be bridging that gap between east and west.” You can reach him at:
KramersEmail@gmail.com

Page 18

STARS/Leadership Completes Robotics Camp @ WT Moore

Library & Information Studies

The Communicator

During November and December of 2012, SLIS Leadership students and
STARS Alliance students led a three-week robotics program at W.T. Moore
elementary school. Students included: Chelsea Collins, Ashley Augustine,
Kevin Galutera from STARS Alliance, and Desire Fraser, John Seigel, and
Matt Thompson from the IT Leadership course. The coordinator for the
activity was John Seigel, completing his 4th outreach effort to local schools. STARS will be returning to WT Moore this Spring
as well as Chaires elementary. If you are interested in participating (and have an interest in robotics), visit
starsalliance.fsu.edu for info.

STARS Speaks to 1200 Students About Technology

On February 15th, four Stars Alliance students spent the day at Lake Asbury Junior High in Jacksonville talking to 1200 students
about education, technology, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math), and careers. The students, Matt Russi, Nancy
Moyers, Kevin Galutera, and Vanessa Adame, completed a basic overview of STEM and then broke into smaller groups to discuss
topics that the students were interested in.
The FSU students were invited by the TSA (Technology Student Association) advisor, Ms Maria Behnken, to address the entire
school. Lake Asbury Junior High is has been rated an â&#x20AC;&#x153;Aâ&#x20AC;? school for the past 5 years. The College of Communication & Information
has worked with the statewide TSA organization for the past 3 years (hosting events, running leadership sessions, judging student
work, mentoring STEM students). For more info about STARS, see starsalliance.fsu.edu. For more info about TSA, see
floridatsa.org.
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Library & Information Studies

The Communicator
SLIS doc student Choi off to Paris Conference
A paper by SLIS doctoral student Wonchan Choi has been selected by the juried Association for
Computing Machinery (ACM) Special Interest Group in Computer-Human Interaction (SIGCHI) 2013
Student Research Competition for their annual conference, Paris, April 27-May 2.
“What Makes Online Health Information Credible for Older Adults?: A Exploratory Study” examines cues to
increases and decreases of the perceived credibility of health-related websites by older adults. “Anyone
can anonymously edit and reproduce health information on the Web,” Choi said, “The credulity of this
information for our increasingly older adult population affects the overall quality of human life.”
“Our preliminary findings are informing our understanding of how older people judge health information
online,” Choi said. “Further study can be useful in designing better health-related websites and in better
Wonchan Choi
educating older adults on how to find quality health information.” SIGCHI is the international society for
professionals, academics and students who are interested in human-technology & human-computer
interaction. “Clearly, our reputation in health informatics continues to gain momentum as we see our research show up in prestigious
venues such as SIGCHI,” said Professor Kathleen Burnett, interim director of SLIS. Florida’s iSchool. The School of Library &
Information Studies at Florida State University has become one of the international leaders in the iSchool movement by examining the
critical relationships between people, information, and technology. In keeping with the iSchool philosophy, our library and information
studies, school media, information technology, and information communication and technology programs emphasize professions and
activities which help others use and manage information in an age when information is a vital part of everyone’s lives.

SLIS grad Collins named library director/faculty
2010 SLIS Master’s in Library and Information Studies (MLIS) graduate Matthew S. Collins, Ph.D. was named
director of the Ernest Miller White Library and associate professor of bibliography and research at Louisville
Presbyterian Theological Seminary.
Collins has experience in web development, learning consultation and medical education coordination. In
addition to his MLIS, he holds a doctorate in New Testament studies and a master’s from Vanderbilt
University, a master’s in Divinity from Northern Baptist Theological Seminary and a bachelor’s from Michigan
State University.
Learn more: http://www.lpts.edu/about/news/2013/03/08/matthew-collins-named-director-of-ernest-millerwhite-library

FSU College of Communication & Information
Florida State Department of Communication
Science Disorders and Alumni
FSU College of Information Alumni

Twitter Handles:




@FSUCCI
@FSULibIt
@FSU_ICT

SLIS students Organize/Run Homecoming Celebration

Did you attend Homecoming 2012? Did you know that two SLIS students were key to its success?
Casey Jostine and Carly Coakley served as the Overall Director and Assistant Director for the week-long program. Casey is an IT
student graduating this Spring while Carly is a senior majoring in ICT. Carly has been involved in Homecoming since her
freshmen year and was deeply honored to be a part of Homecoming this year.
The duo were responsible for:



Supervising Executive Council of 17 talented individuals and supporting them through their tasks and events as related to
Homecoming



Working with Executive Council members to submit budget requests each spring for their events/areas



Distributing the overall budget to the different events/areas



Meeting with each Homecoming event/area as needed (i.e. one-on-ones)



Assisting Executive Council members in balancing their budgets



Scheduling and running weekly HC Executive Council meetings



Developing a budget proposal with the Pow Wow Director and Student Alumni Association Homecoming Chair to present to
SGA Senate Budget committee each fall for next year’s Homecoming



Sitting on the Homecoming Planning Commission within SGA



Serving as the student Homecoming liaison to the SGA, University Homecoming Committee, and Division of Student Affairs
on all matters relating to Homecoming statutes, funding, and events
Casey is certain that the process has definitely been a life changing experience within itself. He said
that “The role really taught me the definition of communication and development; dealing with a group
of 17 different individuals with different types of communication styles can be a hassle and a distraction
from the ultimate goal.” He credits some of his success to participating in off-campus retreats and team
-building exercises (like the ones he learned in Leadership class) in helping him build chemistry with his
executive board.
Casey and Carly were able to plan and execute one of the largest Homecomings Florida State
University has ever seen. According to Carly, “Our tradition and legacy of Homecoming has led us to
be ranked 7th among the top 10 Homecomings in the country, and I am glad that I got to serve my
school in such capacity.”
What’s next for these two talented students:



Casey will graduate this Spring and will be attending Grad School in Information Studies or
Leadership